Chapter 2

The weather was too hot. May practically panted as she navigated on the streets that were bustling with people.
Why did I even bring my jacket? I’m such a fool.
She stopped for a bit and fanned her right hand in front of her slightly sweaty face while she looked around.  In a desperate search for a part time job, May had practically searched through every street corner in Seoul. At least that was what it felt like. She hadn’t even noticed when she had crossed over to Gagnam.
I should probably search elsewhere. She thought. There’s no way that I’ll get any job in these parts.
 May was starting to feel a bit discouraged. The flight home seemed closer than ever. With a small sigh she kept walking between the tall buildings. Feeling dejected, she halted in front of a small café.
Should I just go home?
She glanced at the café and decided to buy a take away coffee instead of wasting money on lunch. When she opened the doors she immediately felt the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Without realizing why, her mind felt more at ease. The interior of the café was surprisingly cozy for a shop located in Gagnam. Flowers planted in colorful pots could be seen through the entire café, and the customers relaxed in armchairs in different sizes and fun colors. It seemed so comfortable. In a considerably better mood, May stepped towards the counter.
“Ice-coffee, thank you” She said to a small female who was busy with her mobile phone.
“Yeeees, coming right up” the female answered distractedly. Then she looked up at May and fell open.
“Wow, you’re a foreigner? I really couldn’t tell!”
There were times when May got that reaction from people. To be honest she had started to get a bit tired of it, but the girl behind the counter seemed so friendly and cute that May couldn’t do anything but smile back at her.
“Yes I am”
“Really? Cool! And you have blue eyes! So pretty!”
Feeling a bit flustered May shook her head.
“No, no, I’m not. But thank you very much.”
Feeling a bit happy May walked through the café and against the doors. She noticed that a couple of other guests seemed to take note of her presence. There was even a girl who held up her phone as if to take a picture. May blushed a bit and started walking faster, but a small poster on the wall made her stop abruptly.

Searching for part time workers! Please contact us at Café Symphony at: 010 – 364…

Before she even noticed it herself, May was rushing back towards the counter.

***

A triumphant feeling was oozing through May’s mind. She couldn’t believe how easily she had gotten the job at the café. The female behind the counter, who later presented herself as Su-Jung, had been over-enthusiastic when May asked about it. The friendly Su-Jung had immediately brought May to the elderly manager, Lee Du-Ho. He inspected her with great care and muttered:
“Might be good for business.” Then he had nodded to Su-Jung and suddenly May had a job! Sizzling with happiness she stood in front of her new locker in the back of the café. She the simple, newly-added sign that read “May” with large letters.
I might actually make it through this.
“Have you settled in?”
May’s thoughts were disturbed by Su-Jung’s soft voice.
“Yeah, thank you so very much for helping me.”
Su-Jung just waved her hand dismissively.
“I think foreigners are so interesting! I always wonder why you want to come here to boring old South Korea.”
“South Korea is super interesting!! You don’t think so?”
“No! It’s boring.” Su-Jung’s eyes became distant. “It’s my dream to earn enough money and then just travel over the world. I want to go to Paris, Kairo and London.”
“Why just those places?”
“Won’t it be cool to take pictures in all the famous places? The Eiffel Tower, the pyramids and Big Ben. Then I’ll send the pictures to my family.” Then she seemed to come back to reality.
“But first we need to work!” Su-Jung leaned closer to May. “I think that the manager has made a good deal in hiring you.”
May gave her a confused look. “What makes you say that?”
“Why, because having a foreigner work here will surely attract a lot of customers! It’s chic having foreigners as baristas.” Su-Jung gave her a wink and turned around. “Come up as soon as you’re ready! I’ll teach you the basics.”
May smiled at the chatty and cheerful Su-Jung. She just couldn’t believe that she’d had such luck.
“Okay,” she said to herself. “Let’s do this. Fighting!” Then she changed clothes and hurried to Su-Jung’s side.

***

“No, no, no! You need to be smoother in your movements. Watch me. Use your whole arm when you are pouring. Here, feel my shoulder. It’s moving isn’t it? Now you try.”
May hesitantly grabbed the pot with hot water and started to pour it in circular movements over the newly grinded coffee beans.
“That’s much better! Later I’ll teach you how to make latte art.”
“That’ll be fun! Thank you Su-Jung.” May looked around in the café. “But there’s not that many customers here, even though Café Symphony is so cute and well-styled. Why is that?” Su-Jung waved her finger in front of her nose.
“That’s because this is a special café!”
“How come?”
“Well, it’s located just beside a famous company that is charge of many idols and idol-groups. So we got many customers from that company. And we get to charge a bit more.”
That’s why the coffee was so bloody expensive last time. May thought to herself.
“So if you’re in luck you might get to serve someone famous! And the men who comes here are often very handsome” Su-Jung continued with a giggle.
“Haha, I’m not really interested in that kind of thing. I’m not listening to Korean music that often to be honest… But I do like this song!” May pulled up her mobile and started a calm song.
“Really? That’s so old-fashioned, May!” Su-Jung laughed. May joined in.
“Is it? But it’s so good!”
They were so focused on the laughter that they didn’t notice a presence that had appeared just in front of them. Su-Jung noticed the person first and hastily said:
“Sorry, what can I get you?” But the person didn’t answer her. 
“Hey,” a male voice said. May suddenly felt a strong grip on her wrist. She angrily looked up with open to give the person a piece of her mind, but the sentence got stuck in . She recognized that frown. He even wore the same beanie as the last time she had seen him. The man continued:
“Come with me for a bit.”

Note:

Well, I guess not much development in this chapter. Hehehehe… I want this fic to be longer than a one-shot so I hope you don’t mind the slow pace. :)
I decided on Su-Jung’s name because the meaning of “Jung” is righteous, honest and affection. I wanted her name to be just as friendly as her character. And Lee Du-Ho? “Du” means head. Haha, it’s a name as good as any I guess XD
Then I’m just going to mention that the whole “barista” thing is inspired greatly from the drama Coffee Prince. And the song that May shows Su-Jung is also from Coffee Prince.
Here’s the link for the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNcQxKhLous&list=PL398ABD6F0DC8DBAA&index=90

I wanted to mention its name, but I couldn’t find the title’s name in English. :(
Ok, I hope that you’re enjoying this fic. See you!